The invention relates to the rudder system described below, in particular a self-locking pivotable rudder, which is produced with the objectives of robustness, reliability and minimization of the production costs. This is achieved by the use of the fewest possible components, a functional design of production parts optimized for manufacture and the use of standard components.
Pivotable rudder systems are known from the prior art, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,264 A. These are usually used in guided missiles which are launched from a launching tube. As soon as the guided missile has left the launching tube the pivotable rudder is pivoted out in order to be able to control the missile. In the pivoted-in state the missile has a virtually cylindrical shape so that it can be stored in the launching tube. However, the kinematics of known pivotable rudder systems is very complex and thus expensive. Moreover, known pivotable rudder systems have to be developed individually for each missile, since they are not adaptable or scalable.
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a rudder system which with simple and cost-effective production and assembly can be adapted simply and cost-effectively to different missile systems.
This may be achieved by a rudder system which has a pivotable rudder part, a rudder housing and a resilient locking device. The pivotable rudder part is mounted rotatably on the rudder housing, the pivotable rudder part being movable from a pivoted-in position to a pivoted-out position. In this case, the movement between the pivoted-in position and the pivoted-out position takes place relative to the rudder housing. The resilient locking device is held in a pretensioned position by the pivotable rudder part when the pivotable rudder part is in the pivoted-in position. On the other hand, if the pivotable rudder part is in the pivoted-out position the resilient locking device can be moved by tension relief from the pretensioned position into an at least partially tension-relieved position. According to the invention it is provided that the resilient locking device in the at least partially tension-relieved position blocks a movement of the pivotable rudder part relative to the rudder housing. In particular, it is provided that the pivotable rudder part in the pivoted-out position is completely surrounded by the rudder housing and the resilient locking device. Thus, in particular, pivoting in of the pivotable rudder part is prevented, so that it is ensured that the pivotable rudder part remains pivoted out. If the rudder system is used on a guided missile, it is ensured that the rudder system always remains in the pivoted-out state. Thus a secure and reliable control of the missile is ensured.
A first resilient element is preferably provided which is mounted on a pivot pin. The pivot pin is connected to the control surface housing and in particular also supports the pivotable rudder part. Thus in particular it is provided that a movement of the pivotable rudder part relative to the rudder housing takes place by rotation of the pivotable rudder part about the pivot pin. Furthermore, it is preferably provided that a spring force of the first resilient element forces the pivotable rudder part into the pivoted-out position. Thus the rudder system can be pivoted out autonomously so that a force acting from the exterior is necessary in order to hold the pivotable rudder part in the pivoted-in position. The first resilient element is particularly advantageously a first leg spring.
It is preferably provided that the resilient locking device comprises a second resilient element, in particular a second leg spring. The second resilient element, in particular the second resilient leg spring, is advantageously oriented perpendicular to the first resilient element, in particular to the first leg spring. In this case, it is provided that each leg spring has a characteristic plane which extends parallel to the legs of the leg spring. Furthermore, each leg spring has an axis of rotation which is perpendicular to the characteristic plane and about which the legs of the leg spring are rotatable. If two leg springs are oriented perpendicular to one another, it is in particular provided that both the characteristic planes and also the axis of rotation are oriented perpendicular to one another.
Particularly advantageously, the resilient locking device comprises a movable first leg and a second leg at least partially fastened to the rudder housing. The first leg is in particular rotatable about the axis of rotation of the leg spring of the resilient locking device. The second leg is in particular held between two cylindrical pins by non-positive engagement. In this case, it is provided that the second leg bears against a wall of the rudder housing, so that the resilient locking device can be supported by the second leg on the rudder housing.
The pivotable rudder part advantageously has a rudder foot supported on the rudder housing and a rudder blade fastened to the rudder foot. In this case, it is provided that in the pivoted-out position of the pivotable rudder part the rudder foot bears against the rudder housing and the movable leg, so that a movement of the rudder foot relative to the rudder housing is blocked. In particular it is provided that the rudder housing itself blocks a movement of the rudder foot which is produced by the resilient spring force of the first resilient element, whereas the movable leg blocks a movement of the rudder foot which is oriented against the spring force of the first resilient element.
The resilient device is advantageously mounted on the rudder housing by means of a retaining element. In this case, it is provided that the retaining element is oriented parallel to the axis of rotation of the leg spring of the resilient locking device. The first leg of the resilient locking device is rotatable about the retaining element for movement between the pretensioned position and the at least partially tension-relieved position.
Furthermore, it is preferably provided that the rudder housing has a recess. The recess is in particular an opening. The first leg engages in the recess when this leg is in the at least partially tension-relieved position. In this way, an additional retention of the first leg is provided, so that the first leg can effectively block a movement of the rudder foot of the pivotable rudder part relative to the rudder housing. In particular, it is provided that one end of the first leg which is directed away from the retaining element engages in the recess, so that one end of the first leg is fastened by the retaining element to the rudder housing, and the other end is fastened by the recess.
Moreover, it is preferably provided that the recess has a taper region and an end region. In this case, the end region has flanks which extend parallel. In this case, it is provided that the taper region serves so that the first leg can engage in a simplified manner in the recess. Thus, in particular, a situation is avoided whereby the first leg engages beyond the recess and thus could not be moved into the at least partially tension-relieved position. The end region serves for guiding the first leg into the at least partially tension-relieved position.
Thus, particularly advantageously, the first leg engages in the recess when this first leg is in the at least partially tension-relieved position. In particular, it is provided that an internal dimension of the end region, which is defined in particular by a spacing of the parallel flanks of the end region, corresponds to an external dimension of the first leg. According to the invention it is provided that the internal dimension and the external dimension correspond to one another when they have a maximum deviation of 5%. Thus the first leg is partially received by positive engagement in the recess. In particular, this partial positive engagement only allows a movement of the first leg in the direction of the taper region. Thus it is ensured that the blocking action of the first leg is only based on the fact that the first leg is subjected to shearing load. Thus, by the limitation to pure shearing loads, the first leg is very stable, so that secure blocking of the movement of the rudder foot of the pivotable rudder part is made possible.
Finally, it is preferably provided that the rudder foot has a chamfer. The chamfer is applied to the rudder foot in such a way that the first leg is pressed against the chamfer by the relief of tension in the resilient latching device when the pivotable rudder part is located between the pivoted-in position and the pivoted-out position. In this way, an additional force is applied to the rudder foot and thus to the pivotable rudder part, wherein the additional force reinforces a pivoting out of the pivotable rudder part into the pivoted-out position. Thus fast pivoting out of the pivotable rudder part is ensured.
Moreover, the rudder system advantageously has a pivot pin receptacle by means of which the entire rudder system can be mounted on an actuator pivot pin. Thus the rudder system does not penetrate the shell of the missile, so that the rudder system can be used on a plurality of missiles or can be adapted flexibly to the missiles. In order to simplify the pivoting out of the pivotable rudder part by the first resilient element, the rudder foot also advantageously has a groove. The first resilient element is advantageously a second leg spring, so that a leg of the second leg spring engages in the groove of the rudder foot, whereas the other leg bears against the rudder housing. Thus since the second leg spring is in particular mounted on the same pivot pin on which the pivotable rudder part is also mounted, a simple and reliable transmission of force between the second leg spring and the pivotable rudder part is made possible.
The pivotable rudder is characterized by not only the robustness and reliability but also by the possibility of scaling and simple adaptation to other missiles, since the rudder is only applied externally to the rudder pivot pin on the rudder of the actuator system and does not encroach into the shell of the missile.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.